The Owl's Hoot
by Lady Cobweb
Summary: It’s been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and life is good. That is until a certain glitterloving king decides to turn her world upsidedown one more time. Except this time he’s not the only one after her. . . Rated T just for safety
1. Substitute Goblin

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**A/N:** Hey everybody! You all look so cool out there, readin' my story! This is my first fanfic, so I'd like some critical comments. But please be nice to me, no flames or anything. I burn real easy-like. I hope you all like it! –Lady Cobweb

**Substitute Goblin**

She had said no, and she had left him. No one had ever said no to him before, nor had anyone ever left him. But this girl had, she had stolen his heart and run away with it, never giving him the chance to steal hers in return. He looked into the window, watching his subjects laugh and play games with the girl who had broken him. It looked warm inside and his skin crawled from the cold that was becoming increasingly stronger. Only when he felt the telltale plops of rain on his feathers did he take off into the night. He circled again and again, trying to lose the feeling of sorrow that had filled him to the core and tried to replace it with the simple joy of flight. He spiraled upward for what seemed like hours until he felt he could touch the moon. He stopped and turned to look at the laughing face of the moon, fully aware that his pain had not ebbed at all.

Suddenly an idea hatched in his mind, a wonderful, wickedly clever plan. _That's it! _ He exclaimed to the moon. A feeling of contentedness washed over him as he began to drift downwards. He flew into the gathering mist and disappeared from the mortal world. _I never take no for an answer,_ he thought smugly to himself, _and I never will._



Sarah sat at her desk in English class, doodling in her notebook as she waited for class to start. She was putting the finishing touches on a drawing of Sir Didymus and Ambrocious, two of her best friends. Her notebook was filled with pictures of her friends from the Labyrinth. She turned the page to find a picture she'd drawn a month ago of Hoggle and Ludo, waving to her. She wished so very much to visit them again, but that would mean going to the castle and seeing _Him_ again. She'd just have to do with talking to them through her looking glass. She turned the page again, groaned and immediately wished she could be rid of this picture. In a rare moment of pure absentmindedness she had drawn a picture of Jareth, the one person she truly hated.

No matter how hard she tried she couldn't bring herself to tear the page out, to rip it up, throw it away and forget it. She looked at it now with a detached sort of feeling; it was the only way that she could bring herself to study the picture without slamming the book shut and going red in the face from anger, embarrassment, and a strange feeling of excitement. Her eyes wanted to move quickly over the picture so that she could tell herself that she had looked at it and put it away faster. She had pulled this trick on herself countless times, but it had never worked.

She sat there and forced her eyes to move slowly down the page so that she could take in all of the details. _Maybe if I do this enough times, I won't think about him so much,_ she thought to herself. She began to think about all of the strange things that had been happening lately. They'd started about two weeks ago when her _Labyrinth_ book had disappeared. She hadn't thought too much about it then, she was always misplacing stuff, but when Lancelot had disappeared and a black crystal was left in his place on her shelf she knew something was going on. The happenings became more frequent as time went on, music being blasted over the intercom at school when no one had been in the office to turn it on in the first place. Desks would rearrange themselves into odd patterns and a room of her house went completely missing, only to reappear three days later on the other side of the house where it had originally been.

She had become suspicious about whom or what had been causing these strange pranks and decided to ask Hoggle if Jareth was behind it. One evening she had looked into her mirror and thought about Hoggle, and there he was, sitting on the reflection of her bed. "Hoggle, can I talk to Jareth? It's important."

"Sorry, little lady, he's been locked up in his chambers for. . ." the goblin had casually glanced down at his pocket watch then looked back up, "four years."

"Can you just ask him to speak with me?" she had pleaded.

"No one can get in to see him at all. Although you could just wish to see him, he'd probably come to talk to you then," Hoggle had replied thoughtfully. While the thought of having Jareth alone in her room with her when he was still obviously angry with her was not a pleasant one, she had called to him anyway. "I wish the Goblin King was here right now."

Her lights had flickered and her window had burst open with a great gust of wind. In flew the most beautiful barn owl she had ever seen. He hovered in the air for but a moment when a blast of glitter and light exploded in the room. After she had blinked away the spots in her eyes she looked up to find the Goblin King standing before her in the middle of her room. "Well, well, well, if it isn't you?" he had said haughtily. "I wondered if I would ever have the misfortune of seeing you again. What do you want?" His last words had been said coldly, and Sarah could feel anger, disgust and another emotion that she couldn't name dripping from his words.

"Some strange things have been happening around here lately, things disappearing, that sort of thing."

"And. . .?"

"Well I was wondering if it was you. You don't seem to like me very much so I thought it was you taking your revenge on me because I solved your Labyrinth."

His gaze had been blank as if he had been trying to hide something the whole time she had been talking, but he could not hide the contempt in his voice when he answered her. "Do you really think I would waste my time executing revenge on a mortal who doesn't even care that she took something very valuable of mine when she left the Underground? No, I can just take back what you took from me when you die. Humans don't live half as long as a dweller of the Underground, time basically stops there. Therefore I have no need to pull such silly . . . pranks."

With that he had lunged out the window leaving Sarah very confused. When she ran to the window to see where he went all she could see was the silhouette of the beautiful owl against the moon's white surface.

That encounter had been days ago.

Suddenly she realized that her gaze had been stuck on his eyes for over a minute. Slowly she drew her eyes from the stare of the two on the paper and looked over the rest of the drawing, but as soon as her gaze reached the bottom of the paper they sprang back up to those two eyes. Even in pencil the one looked different from the other; it seemed lighter and yet stronger than the other. _It's always his eyes_, she chided to herself, _you're a sucker for blue eyes, even if he only has one._

She continued to stare at the drawing even as Principal Mazlar came into the room to address the students. "Students, Miss Fleetwood will no longer be teaching your class on the account that no one has been able to contact her all weekend and her address has apparently changed over night. Someone will be arriving shortly to take over the remainder of your studies." And with that the pudgy, dwarf-like man left the room leaving most of the students in a state of pure confusion.

Sarah hadn't looked up the whole time Mazlar had been talking and had only paid him marginal attention, but she knew there was something wrong when her hackles began to rise up in fear. She had heard footsteps, familiar footsteps. She kept looking at her drawing, but she could see just out of the corner of her eye, a pair of uncomfortably familiar black leather boots step into the room. She dragged her eyes slowly away from the drawing to look up at the new substitute teacher. It was just as she feared; a pair of odd colored eyes were staring right into hers.


	2. Unpleasant Laughter

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I guess that means I should keep the story going . . . Anyway, here's the next chapter, ooh the suspense is terrible . . . I hope it will last! (First one to get the allusion gets a cookie!) Read and review good gentles!

**Unpleasant Laughter**

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," Jareth said; his voice was as soothing and misleading as Sarah had remembered it from those many years ago in the Underground. "Let me be the first to express my sympathies to you about the strange disappearance of your instructor." He looked over at Sarah and winked. Her blood ran cold then suddenly flared up with the fire of a thousand suns. His gaze traveled over the rest of the class with mock sympathy, "I do hope she's alright."

"She'd better be Jareth, you bastard," Sarah snarled just above a whisper. She _had _tried to be quiet but it had been just loud enough for the surrounding students and Jareth to hear her. The girl sitting next to her pulled her gaze slowly from Jareth to stare at her wide-eyed and truly in shock. The other students around her who had heard also turned to stare at her in disbelief of her audacity. Sarah realized that the whole class had been staring at Jareth, enraptured by his words and impressive features. She raised her head to glare at him. The Goblin King, whose emotions were usually unreadable, let slide the quirk of an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth deepened in silent laughter.

"Now, now Miss Williams; I know that we have never truly gotten along, but please don't let your sullenness towards me persuade the other students that I am anything but a true gentleman." The Goblin King stared at Sarah with eyes that sparkled with maliciousness and again that emotion that had been present the other night that she could not name. But unlike the other night, Jareth was dressed almost normally. Gone was the flowing black cloak, the wild leather jacket, and the tight breeches that left nothing to imagination. In their stead was a pair of jeans, some form of a poet's shirt that was tucked into his pants and in one pocket rested a pair of spectacles. He still wore a pair of black leather boots, but theses did not reach to his calves, they were short and looked comfortable. The wild hair lay somewhat flat and tied in a horse-tail at the nape of his neck and the smears of color that usually decorated his eyes were gone. In truth he looked like the absent-minded British Literature teacher he was supposed to be portraying. "I could give you a detention," he continued, "but I won't, as you know I am a generous man Sarah."

Sarah sat at her desk grinding her teeth and glaring at her notebook. She saw the picture of the Goblin King lounging in his throne staring back at her and quickly slammed the book shut, but not before _someone_ had seen it. He smirked and addressed the entire class again. "As Miss Williams indicated, my name is Jareth, but I would prefer you all to address me as Mr. H or just H. It's short for Hobgoblin, but that just becomes too much of a mouthful." Sarah snorted at the name, but didn't say anything.

Throughout the rest of the period, Jareth's cultured voice entranced the class and grabbed their attention, actually making the usually dull words of Shakespeare come alive. Sarah had always found Shakespeare interesting of course but had never been able to really relate to the text, for the problems that the characters had run into seemed unimportant. Now Othello's speech of betrayal rang in her ears like a gong, for now she really knew what it was like to be outrageously furious at someone. While the girls stared at Jareth with adoration and the boys looked up at him with admiration, Sarah just glared at him shooting daggers in his direction.

Just when Sarah was beginning to lose faith in the punctuality of the school, the bell to dismiss them for the day sounded. With a sigh of relief Sarah gathered up her books and papers, cramming them into her bag as quickly as possible; she had no desire to stay in the building any longer than she had to. Walking to the door, fumbling with a zipper that just did not wish to close, Sarah did not notice the substitute step in front of her, barring her exit. Only when she ran into a large object that was warm and fleshy, did Sarah look up.

Her eyes narrowed in anger as she looked into the cold eyes of the Goblin king standing before her. "Sarah I was wondering if I could have a word or two with you," Jareth stated coolly. Sarah continued to glare up at the king but managed to nod stiffly and move to sit in a nearby desk. Jareth went over to lean gracefully against the old but sturdy desk that Ms. Fleetwood had always kept so clean and immaculate. Even with all of the figurines of English knights, and other characters from British literature littering the top, the desk still managed to shine and just look uncluttered. Jareth glanced at the figures on the desk and picked up a little Beowulf replica and smiled at it. "I was only a few years old when he accidentally wished his daughter away," he began absently, ignoring the shocked stare that the girl before him threw his way. "He almost beat the Labyrinth, but he failed; he was at the doors to the castle when his twelfth hour chimed. My father gave him his daughter back of course and sent him on his way." Jareth set the figure down again and turned to look at Sarah, "Quite a nice chap actually, from what I'm told he was very much like you."

Sarah's shock at how old the man leaning on the desk really was began to turn slowly into anger and confusion as she came to a realization, "You mean you would have given Toby back anyway, even if I hadn't won? And don't you mean when his thirteenth hour chimed?" she snarled. He gave no indication of answering her questions anytime soon so she decided to just get up and leave, but before she could even get up out of her seat, Jareth decided to break the silence.

"As much as I'd like to answer your questions concerning our unfortunate past, I do have a reason for being here that doesn't _really_ concern you, though I thought you might like to know about it since you will probably find some way to get involved. You have a knack for interfering in, or shattering, my plans completely." He let the slight he'd made against her slowly sink in and watched with amusement as her normally pale face turned a nice shade of purple.

"Well," she asked through clenched teeth, "why are you here?" Jareth's strange eyes stared into Sarah's unblinkingly, making her feel quite nervous and for some reason excited at the same time.

"I've come to investigate the strange occurrences that have happened around here lately. It's not me and anyone who can make an entire room disappear by magic without my detecting it is very powerful indeed and is a threat to the security of my subjects. Therefore in order to prevent a possible hostile takeover I must find the source of this power and either befriend it, or . . . ."

". . . destroy it, I see. But what does this have to do with me?"

Jareth sighed in exasperation and answered slowly, making sure to choose his words carefully. "Nothing really, but because you have a tendency to meddle, I thought in order to avoid the irritation of an annoying mortal teenager bursting in on my plans unexpectedly, why not just include her in them?"

"Me?" she asked.

"Yes, you," he replied casually. "Also I will need a little help now and then when it comes to trying to fit in, in this world for a while; you were the last one to call upon my services four years ago. Before that I hadn't entered this world for at least seventy-five years, much has changed in the human realm."

"Yes it has," she replied airily, still in shock at the Goblin King's admission of his need for a mortal's help.

"So then, will you help me?" Jareth asked tentatively. His gaze into her eyes intensified and Sarah was finally able to identify the strange emotion that had resided within his eyes ever since she had called him almost a week ago. It was sadness, a deep feeling of hurt and sadness, _But at what? _she thought, _What would he have to be sad about?_ She decided to push that question into the back of her mind as she made her decision quickly.

"Yes, I'll help you," she said finally. The look of relief on his face was evident. "But this doesn't mean I don't still hate you."

"That is entirely understandable, as my feelings for you haven't changed in the least," he replied, the malice dripping unmistakably from each word he said.

"Well then, if you want to start fitting in soon I suggest that you meet me in the park by the bridge at five today for your first human lesson." And with that Sarah bolted from the room, listening intently, waiting for the sound of his sarcastic laughter to follow her down the hallway. It never came.


	3. One of Us

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**One of Us**

Sarah stood uneasily by the small stone footbridge in the park, her glance shifting constantly from between the great clock that hovered above the town and the little five dollar watch that resided on her wrist. It was seven after five, he was late. Sarah began to tap her foot in agitation as the minutes ticked by; Sarah had never been one to tolerate tardiness. _Where in this world could he be, I actually need to talk to him, _she thought furiously. It was true; something strange had happened again this afternoon. Sarah had returned home that day feeling very sullen and uneasy, so naturally, as any other teenager would have done, she stormed upstairs to her room. However, when she opened the door, the cozy little room filled with naught but few stuffed animals, her posters and warm furniture had appeared to her dark and forbidding. The floor, her dresser, vanity and desk were covered with great black candles. They had been twisted like the horns of one of the little goblins she had seen in the Labyrinth and instead of a gentle yellow flame burning on the wicks, sharp blue points of light did little to improve the situation.

Sarah had stared at the room, wondering how on earth anyone could have gotten into her room without someone noticing. Karen had the eyes of a hawk and sharper ears, Sarah had learned this, the hard way earlier in life when she had attempted to escape her "Evil Step-Mother" only to be caught by the concerned woman. After her visit to the Labyrinth though, she had come to admire her step-mother's keen sense of awareness, all the time wishing she had possessed the same sort of sense during the time she spent in the Underground. Thus, the only way anyone could have gotten into her room would have been through magic. But, the blue flame candles had not been all; sitting on her vanity where the figurine of the sorcerer had stood watch over her humble abode for years normally was, sat a crystal.

Sarah's immediate thoughts then had been "Jareth," but upon further study of the bauble she saw that it was black, a deeper shade of noir than that of the night-time sky at midnight. Staring into the crystal she had felt as if she could see forever into an infinite void of darkness. When she had tried to pick up the crystal it had disappeared with a pop and a small sliver and black ring was left in its place.

Suddenly Sarah took notice of the world around her again for a great barn owl was swooping towards her. "It's about time your Majesty," she called sarcastically to him. Jareth soared in the opposite direction and flipped his tail at her, in what must have been the equivalent of him sticking his tongue out at her. He landed somewhere in a little grove of trees out of Sarah's sight. A moment later the Goblin King stepped from the shade of the trees, dressed not as Mr. Hobbs but as Jareth the Goblin King in all his finery.

"Well . . . ?" Jareth began as he leaned against the pillar that he had perched on to watch her four years ago, "I know I'm not dressed properly."

"No, you're not."

"So fix it." They stood there for a moment staring one another down, his eyes boring into Sarah's very soul; she could feel it deep down. Her confidence was slowly ebbing away from her grasp. What she failed to notice though as she stared back at the man before her was that her eyes were tearing down his wall of confidence just as easily. It was Sarah who broke the staring contest.

"Fine," she grated, "only because if someone were to happen along, they would get pretty suspicious." She circled the man for a moment, eying him up and down, her mind racing to find a decent outfit. Jareth followed her movements warily wondering what in the Underground had possessed him to let a teenager cloth his royal self. _She's circling me like some sort of animal, _he thought to himself. She stopped in front of him at last, a thoughtful expression on her face. "The jeans you wore today in class, a pair of comfy-looking sneakers, a black t-shirt, and . . . uh you're going to want to get rid of those marking thing around your eyes," she said finally. With a flick of the wrist, Jareth produced one of his usual crystals and threw it in the air. Unable to stop herself Sarah watched the pretty little thing as it flew up in an arc then came plummeting down into a black-gloved hand.

"I kept the gloves, I hope you don't mind," sighed Jareth casually. Sarah stared at the once Goblin King, now a regular-looking man, as she wondered how anyone could make such simple attire look so regal.

"Not at all," she stammered, "It's a nice touch." Jareth grinned inwardly at her reaction to his appearance.

"Now about those human lessons . . . ?"

"First," she began, "I have something to tell you." Sarah then proceeded to tell the Goblin King about what she had discovered that afternoon and produced the little ring from hr jeans pocket. All through her story, Jareth's face began to get darker and darker. When he took the ring from her to study it an actual frown appeared on his face. The ring was indeed small, in the shape of two goblin claws clutching at a miniscule dark crystal. The silver metal looked ancient, _It probably is ancient_, Sarah thought to herself.

After studying the tiny ring, Jareth pocketed it and focused on Sarah again. "I'll keep this with me," he said, "so that if anything happens because of it I won't have to worry about erasing the whole town's memories because it hurt or killed you. Now let's make me one of you."

"One of us," Sarah repeated breathlessly. She realized what a nitwit she was being, ogling the Goblin King in his new casual attire, so she mentally slapped herself to break free of the trance. _Stupid! Now is not the time to go hormonal!_ she thought angrily to herself. _What if it's not hormones? _another more sinister little voice chided. Sarah pushed the voice into the back of her mind and began to focus on the task at hand.

Only when the clock began to chime seven o'clock did Sarah stop telling Jareth about the social customs of humans and fabricating a false life for the Goblin King to tell should someone ask him where he came from. Sarah looked up at the clock and bit her lip with a frown, Karen and Robert would be truly worried if she stayed any later, but she didn't want to go. She had found that once his defenses were down, Jareth was actually a very good listener and spoke his mind when it came to problems he saw in the social structure of the human race, Sarah found this refreshing. Neither did Jareth try to water down his questions making them "easier" to understand as other adults did, he saw her intelligence at once and gave her questions difficult enough to keep her interest in the subject. Sarah's eyebrows knit together trying to decide what she really wanted to do.

"I can get you home in a flash you know," said Jareth producing a crystal from mid-air, mistaking her frown for concern about being late.

Sarah looked questioningly at the crystal for a moment then she gazed into Jareth's eyes. His face was as emotionless as ever, but his offer seemed sincere. "Fine," she finally consented. Jareth threw the crystal to her and she caught it instinctively, when she looked up to thank him she was staring at herself. She had appeared in her room, standing before her vanity. The Sarah in the mirror looked just as surprised as the real Sarah.

"How about the candles?" she called to the mirror. When she looked around her room again, the monstrous blue-flame candles had disappeared and Sarah's room was once again cozy and warm. "Thank you!"

And so went the rest of her evenings that week. She and Jareth met in the park for Human Lessons, in which both parties took interest. Almost every lesson ended with a friendly argument or discussion concerning Underground and Upperworld beliefs. Their time spent together was enjoyable, and it became the part of Sarah's day that she looked forward to most. Little did she know that Jareth felt the same way. Most days they ended the lesson at six-thirty, but Friday night their discussion about the American political system, versus the Underground monarchy went much longer then they expected.

"I'll send you home, quick as wink," Jareth said kindly, and before she could say thank you, she blinked and was standing before her front door.

Since she had missed the family dinner, she decided to fix herself some Ramen and grabbed a few carrots. Everyone seemed to be in the mood for a game, so they decided to have a Go Fish! tournament. Toby won of course, for all his five years he was quite intelligent.

Night finally fell around eight o'clock, so saying good night to Karen and Robert and whisking Toby up to bed, Sarah thought it best to have some alone time. The evening had grown a little cold so Sarah was forced to close her window on the strange May chill. She lay down on her bed and tried to read one of her favorite stories, but tonight the words on the pages did not capture her and take her to another world. Daine's problems seemed to pale in comparison. After she realized that she had been reading the same page for ten minutes, Sarah decided to just put the book down and concentrate on the issues at hand.

_Why does he have to show up now?_ she thought furiously. _I'm graduating in less than a month, finals are going to wreak havoc on my "social life" and I don't even know whether want to go to college or not! _All of the other seniors had made that decision long ago and knew where they were going if they wanted to go. Sarah had no plans, she had no real desire to do anything with her life. _How can anyone decide what they want to do with their life, if they don't even know who they are!_ she thought angrily. The Goblin King, as kind as he seemed to be now, was just going to make things worse, she just knew it.

All during her furious mental battle, Sarah had failed to hear the slight rustling coming from the tree by her window. Her heart leapt to her throat when she heard a light tapping on her window. Her skin crawled from the familiar sound it made. She turned her head slowly fearing that when she looked out the window, she'd see the pale face of a great barn owl staring back at her.

**A/N:** Well now . . . Someone has insecurities! Anyway. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, it's nice to have encouragement, a LOT of encouragement winks slyly R&R people! I _need_ the attention, I _crave_ it, my preciousssssssss!


	4. Inner Reflections of a King

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**A/N:** I'm so sorry everyone! I apparently posted the wrong document for chp. one! So you all were reading chp. three first!. Try reading the first three chapters again. I'm so sorry! This is my first fic, please be kind. : (

**Inner Reflections of a King**

Jareth sat on his favorite perch, a great stone windowsill in the castle at the center of the Labyrinth beyond the Goblin City, and focused on the task before him. In his hands he played with a crystal, it followed the curves of his hand like a boat follows a wave of the ocean. It glittered and shone in the moonlight, the reflections of the stars winking back at him.

The Goblin King just stared into the beautiful little orb for a moment more then stopped its endless journey across his hands abruptly. He laughed ruefully, _So much for that 'plan' of mine,_ he thought bitterly. Jareth had thought to twist Sarah's words one day in order to whisk her away to the Underground through her own carelessness. There had been a day last Fall when the girl had been so exhausted by the workload from school, that she had cried out in agony, "I wish I was somewhere, _anywhere_, else!" Jareth had been sorely tempted to initiate his little scheme then, but on better judgment had decided to wait.

_Good thing too, _he thought to himself. _There was no way she would've been able to handle such a drastic change like that one right then, she was still trying to find herself._ He gazed out across the layout of the Labyrinth and made a realization.

"She still is," he breathed.

Memories of her different reactions to him began to surface in his mind. The day she had actually called him she had shone an obvious nervousness, but when he had appeared in her classroom uninvited she had made it all too clear that she wanted nothing to do with him and that her anger wasn't so much at his sudden appearance but was rooted in a deep hatred towards him. But it was her reaction to him earlier that first evening that had truly surprised him, apart from her initial anger at his tardiness; deep in her eyes he had seen a glimmer of longing. _I must have just imagined that last bit,_ he tried to tell himself, but a little voice in the back of his head was disagreeing with him. _If you just imagined it, then why did she try to hide her amazement at your physical experience? _

Tiring of the subject, he decided to ponder over the events that had happened to Sarah that first evening. He fished around in his pocket looking for little ring she had given him. The little crystal held in the goblin claws was a color blacker than midnight, yet it had clarity like that of starring into the starry heavens. He ran his gloved finger over the smoothness of the globe then pocketed the ring again in one swift movement. He had an idea of where it came from, but there was no real way of telling yet; the fox had left no trail for him to follow.

"Being in love with a mortal is highly exasperating," the king muttered to himself. Again he let the sparkling little crystal he had been ignoring, dance over his hands as he stared into it. It was well into the night when the sound of little paws running towards him woke Jareth from his reverie.

"Sire, sire!" called a little voice as the running sounds came closer. "Sire, rrrruff rrruff!" Jareth knew at once that it was his little knight Didymus, come to fetch him for one reason or another.

_I think it's time for a fly, _he thought solemnly as he slowly rose to his feet, the little crystal grasped firmly in his gloved hand. In a whirl of fabric and glitter a great owl flew off into the night, letting the beautiful little crystal fall somewhere below him in the Labyrinth.


	5. Bosom Companions, Friends

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath) Ooh ooh! But I do own Lydia! She's mine and very cool. Huzzah!

**Bosom Companions, Friends**

Sarah jumped when she saw the face of a girl around her age with her nose pressed against the glass making large steamy prints on the window pane.

The girl pulled her face away giggling and Sarah sighed with relief as she let Lydia in. Lydia was one of Sarah's few human friends and her best one at that. Lydia rolled over the windowsill falling in a tangled heap and giggling incessantly. Sarah couldn't help herself as the laughter seemed to bubble up from nowhere. Soon the two girls were both in stitches.

"Sorry I scared you Sarah, but I wanted to talk," said Lydia when they had both calmed down enough to speak again. Sarah had met Lydia after she had run the Labyrinth and found that underneath the Goth image, Lydia was just as bubbly and sweet as Sarah. Lydia laughed again and threw back her raven hair, her grey eyes twinkling with mirth.

"You, could have called me . . . or used the door," Sarah said, then she was off again too. After a good ten minutes of laughter and tears of mirth the two girls had finally settled down enough to talk without breaking out into peals of laughter.

"Sarah, you insult me. You know that using the door would have been a lot less fun. And anyway, since today is Friday I was wondering if maybe I could stay over. You and I haven't been able to hang out in a long time, so I thought we could stay up all night and gab."

Sarah was so used to having her friend barge into her house through her bedroom window, asking to stay over; that there was no way she could say no. With that Sarah got up and walked to the landing at the top of the stairs and called down, "Hey Karen!"

"Yes Sarah?" yelled the older woman from the kitchen.

"Can Lydia stay the night?"

"Sure, honey. Just make sure she brought some P.J.s this time." Sarah looked down the hallway to see an arm being thrust through her bedroom door bearing a pair of "Edward Scissorhands" pajamas.

"She remembered," hollered Sarah as she turned around to go talk to Lydia again. When Sarah entered the room again, Lydia was trying to stand on her head.

"You're back!" said the girl from an awkward upside-down position. Sarah just rolled her eyes and sat on the bed.

"So what do you think of the new Brit. Lit. teach? I think he's absolutely dishy!" squealed Lydia as she righted her self and plopped down on the floor. Sarah rolled her eyes again and flopped backwards onto her dinosaur pillow. Lydia sensed Sarah's irritation and scrambled up on the bed with Sarah. "You know him don't you? I mean how else would he know your name without looking at the attendance sheet? Why don't you like him? Everyone else does."

"Jareth?" Sarah spat. "Oh he and I go way back. He's an old, I stress old, friend of Toby's and mine."

"Well what went wrong? He seems like a pretty neat guy."

"Let's just say we had a falling . . . out with each other." Sarah sat up and looked at Lydia's confused gaze. She had been about to say falling down, but that wouldn't have sounded right. "But enough of Jareth, I mean Mr. H. What's new with you?" And with that the evening wore on, the two girls catching up on things they had missed out on talking about in school and their home lives. There was much laughter until their rowdiness drew the attention of the two parents downstairs. But even after Karen and Robert had told them to knock it off and go to sleep the two girls whispered and chattered for hours

Around two o'clock Lydia noticed something shimmering in Sarah's open closet. "Sarah what's that?"

"What's what?" Sarah asked groggily.

"That dress. In your closet, over there." Sarah got up and stepped gingerly over Lydia as she crept over to the closet. She reached in and pulled out the garment in question. Her heart froze when she saw what it was. There was no mistaking the whispering sound it made as it moved or the shimmering of the skirts in the moonlight.

"Hey Sarah, close your eyes a minute, I'm going to turn on the lights." The other girl got up and flipped the switch. An unadulterated gasp of surprise and admiration escaped her lips as she looked upon the masterpiece before her. Sarah didn't need to look at it, she'd seen enough of it before. "Oh Sarah, it's beautiful." Lydia inched closer and admired the intricate embroidery of the bodice.

Sarah grimaced and couldn't help herself, "Jareth," she growled. There was no mistaking the malice in her voice as she thought of the Goblin King. _Who else can it be now? No one but he and I ever knew about this dress. . . right?_ Lydia looked up at Sarah's enraged face a little startled.

"What did you say?" she asked, bewildered.

"Nothing," Sarah ground out.

"Yes, you said Jareth. Didn't you?" Lydia began to get a little nervous as she observed a bright blush issuing itself forth on Sarah's pale cheeks. "Oh my God, Sarah he didn't give this to you did he?"

"A long time ago," said Sarah through clenched teeth.

Still a little confused, Lydia tried again. "But you seemed surprised to see it."

"I am."

"But you said he gave it to you,"

"Yes."

"A long time ago."

"Yes."

"But then . . .

"He did," Sarah interrupted, "but I never kept it. I don't know how it got here." The two girls stood and stared at the dress, Lydia's thoughts becoming evermore puzzled as her friend's complexion turned from its normal porcelain lightness, to a pasty shade of anger-white. Then it hit her.

"He's in love with you." Sarah just stared at the dress, color slowly coming back to her face. "Isn't he?" Now Sarah's face was turning beet red with embarrassment as she nodded her head stiffly, then shook it furiously.

"Well does he, or doesn't he?" Lydia stared at Sarah until she looked her friend in the face. The concern on Lydia's face made Sarah feel as if she could tell her anything and she'd understand. _Well, she might,_ she thought. Slowly Sarah sat down on the bed and decided to tell Lydia a half truth. She told her about how four years ago Jareth had offered her, his love in return for hers and she had refused out of spite and a lack of maturity. Then she went on to say that she had called Jareth a few days ago, wanting to know if he knew anything about some of the strange things that had been going on lately, and what he had said to her. She ended her story about her confusion over the decent, yet somewhat unsettling conversation she and Jareth had had these past afternoons.

"Why was it unsettling?" asked Lydia at last.

"Because . . . because. Oh I don't know. It's just weird for me to see him being kind; he'd never been really nice to me before. Even when he offered to love me he had been bitter. It made me feel . . . strange." Sarah tucked her legs up close to her body and laid her head on her knees.

"I wish Jareth was here right now. This would be a lot easier to get to the bottom of, if he were here." At the words "I wish" Sarah had jumped up off the bed in alarm, and then as Lydia had finished talking she whirled to face the window around expecting the worst. She was not disappointed.

The lights in her room flickered off and a strong gust of wind blew through the open window. Both girls turned their eyes away as a storm of glitter whirled around the room. When they both looked up it was not the sight of Mr. H as Sarah had been wishing silently with all her might, but the Goblin King in all his glory.

"Somebody called?"

* * *

**A/N:** Ooooh, that's not gonna be pretty now is it? I want to thank all of you that commented, I'm glad you like the story. Oh by the way I happen to like cliffies very much and I use them often. Muahahahahahaha! snort! looks around suspiciously Noboy heard that, right? Ummm . . . R&R people! Lady Cobweb salutes you!


	6. Third Wheel

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**The Third Wheel**

"Sarah?" someone whispered. She was not sure if it had been Jareth or Lydia. "Sarah, I'm scared." _It was Lydia then,_ she thought to herself. But soon Lydia and all other thoughts were gone from her head as she drank in the sight of the man before her. He was dressed in a strange leather jacket and again those outrageous breeches and boots. On any other man, they would have been wrong, but Jareth wore them well. Slowly she dragged her eyes from his jacket and pendant that hung on the bare skin of his chest revealed by a loose poet's shirt, up to his eyes. _Ah, those eyes._ He angered her, he exited her, and he frightened her all at the same time.

"Sarah, it was not you who called me. Step aside and let me speak to my summoner," said Jareth coldly. He tried to step by her but was shocked when she moved to stand in his way.

"No," she said defiantly, staring into his eyes with that same cruel expression with which she had addressed him in their final meeting four years ago. It sent a dagger of pain through his heart when he remembered that moment, but of course the only thing Sarah saw was his arrogance as he closed the space between them.

"Move little one, or you shall regret your actions," he placed a gloved hand under her chin and bent closer, "Sarah, don't defy me." He smiled inwardly as he felt her heart speed up, and then stepped past Sarah quickly, taking advantage of her temporary immobility from shock at their close proximity. Though he was not proud of it, Jareth also possessed human feelings and emotions. There was no way he was going to let her see or feel the desire he had for her, so the only course of action was their quick separation. He had noticed what she was wearing, a long blue night gown made of a soft flannel. Jareth frowned, it looked too childish for her.

The Goblin King strolled over to Lydia who was huddled on the bed, striving not to be seen. Jareth towered over the frightened girl and smirked cruelly. "Well, mortal? You asked that I come and I came," he said coldly. Lydia could do nothing but nod dumbly. "Do wish for me to take someone away? If that's the case get on with it, I haven't got all night." He crossed his arms across his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. Lydia's eyes grew large like saucers as she made a discovery.

"You're him, you're the Goblin King!" Sarah put her head in her hands whispering, "This isn't happening," over and over again.

"Yes I am, and Sarah this really is happening. Your friend here called me for some reason or another, so I came. I had no idea I'd have the felicity of seeing you as well. And in your night clothes no less!" This time he let his satisfied smile reach his lips as Sarah's face reddened up to her hair line.

"Are you in love with Sarah?" came a soft, mystified whisper from the bed. Jareth and Sarah looked over at Lydia who was still huddled in the shadows, Sarah began to blanch and Jareth frowned slightly as the words of her question sank in.

"Why would you ask such a thing little one?" asked the Goblin King apprehensively. Lydia just pointed to the dress that was crumpled on the floor. Jareth walked over stiffly and picked up the abused garment. He turned his head sharply to stare at Sarah angrily. "Where did you get this?" he demanded. Sarah just shook her head dumbfounded. "I said, where did you get this!" he asked again, more angrily as he shook the dress before her face.

"I don't know! Lydia saw it hanging in my closet!" Sarah cried. Four years ago, she probably would have tried to spit in his face for talking to her like that, but now his words hurt her deep inside somewhere. Gone was the voracious student who had wished to learn as much as he could about humans and their ways, in his stead was the Goblin King as she had remembered him from their first meeting.

Jareth tossed the garment across the room and turned away from her dragging a hand through his unruly hair, "You say you just found it there?" He leaned against the window sill and stared out into the night.

"Yes," said Sarah softly. He turned around again to face her and was surprised to see pain in her eyes and face.

"Well it wasn't I who gave it to you this time," he said finally. Then turning to face Lydia he said, "And as for the answer to your question, I was in love with Sarah once and offered to be her slave in return for one loving word from her mouth," he turned his head to stare coldly into her deep brown eyes, "But she refused me, and stole something from me. Something very valuable. Something that I will never get back until the day she leaves this world. Maybe not even then." He sighed and went to the open window again, and in a flurry of glitter and fabric he was once again a great barn owl soaring into the night sky.

This was the second time he had accused Sarah of stealing from him. She knew what it was and shed a few hot tears self anger for the pain he must be going through. "Sarah," called Lydia. Sarah just continued to look out the window. "Sarah, what did you steal from him?"

"His heart," and with that Sarah collapsed on the floor crying over her bitterness and the hatred she felt for the man who loved her.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I know it's short, but don't worry, there's lots more to come. I want to thank everyone who is reading this story and has reviewed . . . you know what? I'm gonna make this a personal thank you. Here goes! 

**Wolf.at.Heart:** Of course I leave it there! You mean you don't like cliffhangers? Oh, well tough for you! I jest, truly. I'm glad you'd liked the dress bit, I can't help it, I'm attracted to the poofiness! And thank you for such a lovely complement!

**Tess Michaela Bowie:** Yes, Lydia is quite stupid isn't she? I love her though, she reminds me of myself a little bit. Wait till you see her in chapter 7!

**Mistress Eden:** I'm glad that you chose my story to read! Maybe this one will get you interested in others. Thanks for the encouraging comment!

**K. Valentine:** My dear, bracing yourself for the worst is a wise decision. You see I am quite attached to cliffhangers. But don't fret, I update rather quickly. I should be updating again in glances at watch four years. Just fooling! Hahahaha!

**Nathaneal Jacobs:** I . . . love . . . you . . . too! I mean . . . uh . . . your . . . um, comment! That's it! I'm glad you like the story. Jareth is rather dishy, isn't he? Yumm . . . smiles stupidly while rubs tummy

**Tigermage:** Me lovey cliffies, me very meanie! I update all the time, no worries. Now where did I stick that next chapter?

**not written:** Thanks . . . a lot. . . . . : )

**ghostofthewaterflame:** I am a big Burton fan, but the thought never occured to me about Lydia from Beetlejuice. I've always liked that name, so I thought I'd use it. But how funny is that? Johnny Depp RULES!

Now those of you who read, but don't comment, take your cue from the nice people up there . Please, leave a contribution in the little box!


	7. Sarah You're Stupid

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**Sarah, You're Stupid.**

After Sarah had finally calmed down enough to talk, she told Lydia everything that had happened four years ago and also what had started to happen a couple of weeks ago, leaving nothing out this time.

"So, wait a minute. Let me get his strait. He wanted to give you the world, everything you've ever dreamed of just so you'd love him, and that he could love you in return? Is that right?" Lydia asked.

"Yes," Sarah replied feebly.

"And you said 'No.'"

"Yes."

"Why?" asked the older girl. Sarah looked over at her friend with tired, tear-stained eyes.

"He stole my baby brother and as I remember he tried to kill me," she croaked.

"When, was that again?"

Sarah sighed and rubbed her face, the night's events were starting to take a toll on her. "The Cleaners, the Bog of Eternal Stench, the giant machine goblin thingy, and oh yeah . . . when he sent his ARMY OF GOBLINS to KILL ME!" _Calm down Sarah, don't lose your temper._ "Was that _SIMPLE_ enough for _YOU_ to UNDERSTAND!" _Oh, well. Too late._

"Sarah, when you were being chased by the cleaner-thingies, there was door for you to escape through right?"

"Yes."

"And the Bog, that really wouldn't have been your untimely demise would it?" Lydia was starting to turn slightly pink.

"No, I guess not," Sarah admitted reluctantly. "But I would have smelled bad for eternity," she pointed out.

"Big deal," now Lydia was _definitely _turning pink. "That machine, robot, thingy was really slow wasn't it?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And the Goblin Dude would have known that right?" No, Lydia wasn't turning pink, she was turning red.

"Y-yes." Sarah was starting to get nervous. Lydia rarely got mad in front of people, but when she did it was catastrophic.

"And the Goblin Army, you said they were all pretty brainless right? And the Kingey dude would have known that too, wouldn't he?" Lydia was now scarlet- colored, from the base of her neck all the way up to the roots of her black hair.

"Lydia, maybe you should count to ten or something," tried Sarah tentatively. Lydia just glared at her for a moment until Sarah finally answered, "Yes."

"Oh, and Sarah, _you _wished your brother away didn't you?"

"Yeah." Sarah stared down in her lap, feeling really beaten.

"So really, he was just doing what you told him to do, when you wished your brother away. And all that other stuff? He was only trying to slow you down." Lydia stopped and breathed in slowly a couple of times until she was her normal pale self.

"You're right," there was no way out of it now; Lydia was going to rub this in her face with all her might.

"So you said 'no' to the only man, other than your daddy of course, who'd do anything for you, turn the world upside down for you. You said 'no' and walked away." Sarah stared at her feet, her hand clasped tightly to make them stop shaking. Lydia spoke again, "Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"You're stupid."

"I know."

* * *

**A/N:** Hahahahaha! Someone, finally had the courage to tell Sarah just what the entire world wanted to tell her! Muahahahaha! Surely you concede that she deserved it? Any way . . . on to business!

**Mistress Eden:** Of course I had to end it there. Don't you know anything about me at all yet? Cliffies, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for the comment: )

**Raynne:** I'm honored that you choose my humble story to read. I'm glad that it's given you a good impression of the Fanfic world. I'm sorry to inform you though, that it will become an addiction. I thought that I would enjoy just reading the stories others wrote, but as you can see, I now am a slave to the fiction. Anyway, thank you for such an encouraging comment!

**Tess Michaela Bowie:** I'm sorry she wasn't actually very twitty, but that's OK. wait till the next couple of chapters! And don't worry Jareth makes up for that!

**enchantednight84:** You'll see! Thanks for reviewing!

**Ghostofthewaterflame:** Yes i did get rather sentimental one this one didn't I? Well you'll see if he does or not later. You think you know who sent the dress? I bet you don't! Tim Burton lives forever! The reason I'm so fast, is that the story is already written, waiting to be uploaded. It just all depends on how lazy I am. Thank you for reviewing! Your reviews are wonderful!


	8. Dancing

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth (or The Karate Kid), not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**Dancing**

The next day dawned bright and beautiful. Sarah sat up and blinked her eyes at the bright sunshine that was pouring into her room. She got up slowly, making sure to step carefully over her gently snoring friend as she made her way to the window. Outside the world was awash in color, the sun was shining so brightly trough the trees that they seemed to glow with a light of their own. _Too bad such a beautiful morning is wasted on a bitter heart like mine_, she scoffed silently. She narrowed her deep brown eyes and stuck her tongue out at the world. "There," she whispered softly, "I mock you."

Unfortunately Sarah's little proclamation had woken Lydia up from a very light sleep. "Huh?" she mumbled, "What did you say?" Sarah sighed and shook her head slightly. "Sarah, are you alright?"

"Why, am I so stupid Lydia?" Sarah muttered forlornly.

"You're a teenager, it's your job," the older girl replied wisely. "It's as the master always says," she continued in her atrocious monk imitation, "Smart on, smart off!" Lydia accompanied her advice with the "Wax on, wax off" hand motions from one of her favorite movies, "The Karate Kid." That got a little giggle out of Sarah, and Lydia smiled at her own triumph. She got up and went to hug her friend around the shoulders supportively.

"How could you have known that he wasn't lying? You were what, fourteen? And I'm sure that getting Toby back was more important to you at the time," said Lydia kindly.

"You're right," confessed Sarah after a moment or two. "But now I'm so confused. I've been hating him for so long, that I don't know what to do about all this. It's just too much right now! I mean, graduation's in less than a month!" she wailed. Feeling defeated and lost she let her head fall into her hands to hide the few tears she couldn't hold back.

Never, in all of their friendship, had Lydia ever seen Sarah so upset. She chewed on her lip, trying to think of something Sarah could do. Although Lydia didn't really support the whole, eight-teen year-old going out with a million-and-whatever year-old deal, she could tell that something had to be done. This Goblin King person and Sarah _needed_ to talk. "Hey Sarah."

Sarah looked up at her friend with a tear-stained face with a blotchy red nose. "W-what?" she muttered wetly.

"Why don't you offer to meet Mr. H somewhere bearing the white-flag, and talk out everything that needs to be said?" suggested Lydia.

"I suppose, but I'm not sure if I want to see him alone just yet."

"How about I go with you, like as a chaperone? To make sure nothing happens." Sarah quirked her eyebrow at Lydia as if to say, "Excuse me?" Lydia finally caught on and exclaimed, "Not like that! I mean to make sure you don't chicken out, or kill him."

"Oh. Well I guess that might work." Sarah had finally stopped crying and was digging around in her drawers looking for a clean handkerchief. She found one at the bottom of her sock drawer; it had a little faerie embroidered in one corner. Sarah used the hanky then threw it into her hamper. "He doesn't seem to have plans in the evening so how about Monday after school in the park?"

"You really do love that park, don't you?" asked Lydia. Sarah smiled at her friend and became lost in her reveries.

"Yes," she said dreamily. "When I was smaller, it was a place where anything could happen. It was the place where I met with fairies and elves and we had great adventures together." Sarah sighed, "But it lost the magic I once felt in it the day I chased that stupid owl around the lawns."

"What?" asked Lydia perplexed.

Sarah sighed again, "I was going to perform my favorite play, 'Labyrinth' one day, just for fun when I saw a huge barn owl sitting in a tree. At the time I thought he'd make a great stand in for the Goblin King since I didn't know the real one. Little did I know . . ." Sarah trailed off and shook her head dejectedly.

"Little did you know that it really _was_ him. Am I right?" inquired Lydia. Sarah nodded slowly.

"Now I go there just because I think it's the prettiest place in town, and I enjoy listening to the wind through the trees," replied Sarah.

"You're so poetic Sarah," said Lydia, "I think Monday afternoon will work out just fine. So how about breakfast?" And with that the girls headed downstairs to raid the kitchen, giggling all the way.

* * *

Monday morning came too swiftly for Sarah. Before she realized it, the school day was over and the other students were getting up to leave. "Before you all go I have some good news," announced Jareth. "Your teacher has been located." Everyone started to whisper about where Miss Fleetwood had actually been. Sarah's stomach fell, feeling like a lump of lead, as she expected the worse. Jareth quieted them down quickly with a wave of his hand. "Apparently Miss Fleetwood's sweetheart proposed to her unexpectedly and they decided to elope immediately. I believe she's somewhere in Mexico drinking tequila right now, because of course she's on her honeymoon." The whole class exploded with happy cheering and laughter. "she will return Wednesday."

After everyone had filed out of the room Sarah approached Jareth's desk cautiously. "Jareth?" she asked timidly. He didn't look up at her but continued to file papers into his brief case.

"It's Mr. H, Miss Williams," he replied coldly. Sarah stepped back, hurt by the malice in his voice.

"I just wanted to apologize for the other night, Lydia didn't know that wishes could really come true yet." Jareth sniffed arrogantly. "And I think you and I need to talk, about why I hate you and . . . well . . . about why you treat me the way you do," Sarah responded slowly. At that Jareth looked up at her with an expression of utmost pain and anguish that made Sarah's heart feel like a steel clamp had tightened around it, wrenching it painfully.

"Do you still not understand?" he asked softly. Sarah looked down and away to hide the guilt on her face.

"I understand a little bit," she answered softly, looking up into his face again. "But that's exactly why we need to sit down and have a nice chat about everything. Can you meet me after school in the park?"

"I need to grade one or two homework assignments first, but yes I can meet you," he said sullenly. Sarah gave him a small smile and left quietly. Outside in the hallway, Lydia leaned against the wall by the door. She smiled sadly at Sarah as she saw her friend leaving the room.

"Is he coming?" she whispered. Sarah nodded and left with her friend. They walked slowly to the park, as Sarah told Lydia everything that was said in the classroom.

"Did you tell him I was going to be there?" asked Sarah as they sat on the stone set of stairs by the bridge where she and Jareth normally held their Human Lessons.

"No, I sort of forgot." Both girls sighed in exasperation. They waited in silence until something caught Lydia's eye.

"Is that an owl? In the daylight?" she asked, looking up into the sky. An eerie fog was starting to pool around the girls' feet and hung a little in the air making it hard for Sarah to see the animal clearly, but she could tell that it was indeed an owl.

"I think that's Jareth, lets go meet him when he lands," Sarah replied, noting the creature's intended direction. So Sarah and Lydia got up and walked into the little woods, but the further they walked the heavier the fog got. _That's strange,_ thought Sarah, frowning slightly, _shouldn't the fog be thinning out?_

"Sarah, do you see him yet?" asked Lydia worriedly. Before Sarah could answer the fog broke completely, revealing the last thing she ever expected to see again. It was the ballroom where Jareth had meant to steal her heart. The chandeliers were lit, the crystals hanging from the bubble ceiling winked in the light, and party-goers were everywhere.

Everything was dancing.

* * *

**A/N:** Muahahahahahaha! I just _LOVE_ cliffies. Come on people I need encouragement, review! My thanks to those that have reviewed.

**Lark Ewoods: ** Hahaha! I just _love_ the alias, darling! Teeheehee! If you register on you can have updates emailed directly to you so that I don't have to remember to email you when I update. Thanks for your encouragement, it really does mean a lot to me. Puddle made a puddle in his pants! Hahahahahaha . . . .

**notwritten:** thanks : )

**Ghostofthewaterflame:** Don't worry, I was only fooling, I won't be lazy. If you haven't noticed, I try to update every other day, so the story's on a pretty nice set schedule. Yes Sarah is quite dim, isn't she? I mean, who _wouldn't_ say yes! Ah well, that's just the way life goes . . .


	9. As the World Falls Down

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath) Wait, wait! But I do own Lydia! Cool, something of my own . . . I feel like I want to cry. I'm so happy . . .

**As the World Falls Down**

No matter how hard Sarah tried, she could not stop blinking at the scene that lay before her eyes. _This isn't happening,_ she thought frantically, _I've fallen and hit my head, or I fell asleep waiting for Jareth. _"Jareth," she breathed, her eyes wide with shock.

"What?" asked Lydia, coming up behind her. "Jareth's not here, what are you talking about?" But Sarah couldn't hear Lydia anymore, nor could she hear the music from the party, for she was entranced by an all-too-familiar goblin mask looking in her direction. The man who wore the mask walked up to Sarah and stopped scant inches away from her body.

Without looking away from Sarah the man spoke to Lydia, "I have no need for you," he said arrogantly, much like Jareth always spoke to inferior, but this time the voice that spoke sounded . . . different. "Be gone," he commanded, throwing a black crystal at Lydia who caught it instinctively. The moment the orb touched her fingers, Lydia was gone.

Sarah felt gloved hands wrap around her embroidered and bejeweled waist, and take her hand. Her body was pulled flush against another and a soft deep voice whispered in her ear, "Dance with me."

* * *

Lydia didn't know who the man staring at Sarah was, but she got a strange sick feeling, just from looking at him. When he approached Sarah like a predator about to attack, she knew it was not the man they were supposed to be meeting. Before she could say anything, the man told Lydia that she wasn't needed, and to "be gone". Later she would regret her swift reflexes as she caught the black bauble being thrown at her. 

Suddenly Lydia was back in the park, standing by the stone stairs. "Well if shit don't happen," she exclaimed disbelievingly. She plopped down on a stair to wait and see if Jareth would show up. Moments later a man wearing a grey t-shirt, old comfortable looking jeans, a pair of old worn out sneakers, and a pair of black leather gloves came running towards the stairs. His light blond hair was loose and wind tousled; his normally pale skin pasty white.

Jareth, in his Mr. H alias stopped in front of Lydia breathing heavily as if he had been running for a long time. "Sarah, Miss Alan, where is she?" he gasped as soon as he could manage it. He bent over and leaned up against the stone pillar to steady himself as he regulated his breathing.

"I don't know," answered Lydia frantically, "We thought we saw you as an owl, flying towards the forest so we followed. Then there was a lot of mist and suddenly we were in a ballroom. And there was a man." Just when Jareth had started to regain his normal complexion, he blanched again.

"I started to run just as I came out of the school building, because I felt someone crossing over to the Underground. I had been hoping. . ." he trailed off shaking his head. Then he straightened up and looked down at Lydia with sharp mismatched eyes. His blue eye seemed to blaze with a light all its own. "This man, did he talk like me?" he asked the frightened girl. She nodded, blinking back tears. "And did he have black hair?" Again Lydia nodded, her eyes though sparkling with unshed tears, had a hollow expression. Jareth turned around and ran a gloved hand through his hair, thinking rapidly. He turned to look at Lydia again and with a twist of his hand produced a crystal, "I can send you home, give you sleep." He held the sparkling little globe before her.

She didn't know why, but Lydia knew she could trust this man to bring Sarah home. She looked up into his eyes and saw sincere concern as he held the crystal before her. She gave him a watery smile as she took the crystal from his hand. In the blink of an eye she was gone, and he knew that she was in her own room fast asleep.

"Now, on to more important matters," he said as he turned to walk toward the forest. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable as he disappeared in his usual cloud of glitter just as he entered the woods.

* * *

"Jareth" whirled Sarah around the ballroom, humming softly in her ear. "Please don't tell me this is a dream again," she asked quietly into the ruffles of his shirt. He held her closer and laid his cheek against her soft curls.

"It was never a dream, my love," he purred. He drew her closer, making it hard to breathe. _He's so off tempo, _thought Sarah a little amused, _Normally I'd expect his dancing to be impeccable. Although, I did only dance with him once before._ Something struck Sarah mentally, placing a little shadow of doubt in the man who now held her. Sarah stiffened a little, now wary of her dancing partner. She _knew_ something was wrong when she felt his grip on her hand tighten and his fingers grasp into her side in a frighteningly protective way, in response to her tense posture. She frowned slightly and thought of a question that only Jareth could answer.

A little snippet of a conversation she and Jareth had had Friday night floated up before her eyes. "Jareth?" she asked coyly.

"Hmm?" he murmured into her hair.

"Do you think I could bring Elephant and Donkey, my two goldfish to live with us Underground?" she crossed her fingers behind his back, hoping that these doubts of hers were ill placed.

"Of course my dear, anything for the woman I love," he answered sweetly. Elephant and Donkey, named for the American political parties had died two months ago. She had mentioned them and their recent deaths Friday night when she and Jareth had been discussing politics. Sarah pulled away a little to look up into the eyes of her dancing partner for the first time, they were black as sloe, and the wild hair that framed his mask was blacker than midnight. Sarah tried to pull herself from his arms, still looking up into the stranger's face. Only his mouth and eyes were visible behind the grotesque mask he wore, but when he smiled she knew that it was not the smile of a kind gentleman grinning rakishly to his lady, but that of a wild animal looming in for the kill.

"Don't try to struggle little pet," the man snarled as his grip grew tighter on her wrist, "It'll only make things worse for you."

"Who the hell are you? Let me go!" Sarah tried to pull away again but the stranger pulled her closer so that her face scratched on the stitching of his jacket.

"Now I have something to bargain with! I've been trying for weeks to lure you to me. Now I'll finally have Jareth's kingdom as my own!" Sarah's eyes widened with shock to find that the identity of her mysterious prankster was no one she'd ever known! Where had Jareth been, had this imposter stopped him on the way to the park?

"I don't understand. Let me go!"

"You don't have to understand anything, just stand here and look frightened when my King waltzes in," the man's gaze darted all over the room looking for Jareth. "Maybe if you play your part well enough, once I have my kingdom you could be my pet. You'll amuse me for a little while anyway." Sarah felt the pit of her stomach fall through the floor at her captor's heartless words. _Jareth, I wish…_

"Let go of her!" a commanding voice boomed, drowning out the music and laughter of the ball and breaking the staring contest Sarah and the stranger had begun.

Sarah looked in the direction of the booming voice and there stood her knight in shining armor. "Jareth!" she cried happily as she tried to pull away from her dancing partner. The hands that had been holding onto her so tightly suddenly closed down on her arms like steel traps. The man's grasp was so tight that his fingers seemed to bite into her flesh. Sarah screamed in pain and fear, trying to pull her arms free from those clutching claws.

She looked over her shoulder to see the goblin king striding towards them. The dancers around him parted, steering clear of the anger and magic that seemed to fall from him in waves. He stopped a few feet in front of them looking straight into the other man's eyes, "Damon, I said 'let go of her,'" he growled. "Do you understand my order?" he asked, acid dripping from each word.

The other men looked down at the struggling woman in his arms, then up into Jareth's eyes once more, "I understand you perfectly, Brother."

* * *

A/N: Well, well, well. This is going to be very intersting. Please don't hurt me pulls out flaming sword and hols it in front of the angry readers I know it's a cliffie, and that the whole evil brother thing is so over done, but . . . What's the sword for? I might . . . need it. Okay, anyway. I hope you enjoyed this one. R&R people! NowI want to thank all of you that commented on the last chapter.

enchantednight84: Yes, cliffhangers, "Oh, I think they're sooo cute, 'Oooh look at me I'm a flippin' little cliffie! Watch me cilff for ya!'" I'll give you cookies if you can identify the movie that I just modified that quote from.

ghostofthewaterflame: Don't worry, you'll get your action. Just wait till the next chapter! I'm glad you liked it, your reviews are very encouraging. : )

Wolf.at.Heart: Ihope this was different enough from the movie for you. Weren't expecting it to be someone else at the ball though were ya? Teehee. thank you for your review!

Tess Michaela Bowie: Lydia is still dumb-tastic, but she's a little more than one dementional, which is why I like her. You see it's people like you that make me have to brandish a flaming sword. Please don't push me off a cliff. :( Then I won't be able to update, and wouldn't that be worse? Thanks for the review.

notwritten: Thank you, and I will. : )

LabyLvrPhx: I'm glad you like the story. I update every other day, so check back on Tuesday. Thanks for the review!

Mistress Eden: Yay! I have someone hooked! "Now give her some slack, then reel her in! Then give her some slack, then reel her in! Then give her . . . " Sorry about that, it just reminded me of that scene from that movie. I'll give you a cookie too if you can identify _that_ movie!

Raynne: As the World Falls Down is a very good title isn't it? Well and a good song too. And I hope it's a good chapter. Sorry about the cliffies, I just really like them. Thanks for your review, I hope you liked where I went with the ball.


	10. Escape

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**Escape**

Sarah looked back at her captor with wide eyes, "Brother?" she squeaked.

"Unfortunately," the two men chorused together. Discretely, Jareth leaned over to whisper something to a courtier who stood near him, never taking his eyes off his brother. The courtier nodded ever so slightly, then turned to the man who had been her dancing partner to pass the king's message on. "Yes we are brothers," said Damon looking down at Sarah. He did not seem to notice that the courtiers around him were whispering softly. "Jareth's just a little bit older than I, but that seemed to be a world of difference when it came to getting what we wanted," he smiled cruelly into Sarah's face, letting his icy words freeze her bones. "Jareth was always spoiled when it came to things he desired, whilst I was never given anything that I wanted. He looked up at Jareth with blazing eyes, "This time my dear, _I _get what _I _want. Not the other way around."

In the brief moment when Damon glared at his brother, a lady courtier leaned close to Sarah and whispered softly and urgently, "Milady, close your eyes." Sarah closed her eyes tightly only to hear a moment later a soft crack, then the soft thump of bodies around her of men and women who had been unlucky enough not to get the message. The vice grips on her arms released suddenly and she heard the heavy thump of Damon's body as he too fell to the floor.

Though she knew that Damon was no longer her captor, Sarah dared not open her eyes. She stood there, shaking slightly, her eyelids squeezed tightly shut. She heard the soft squeak of sneakers against the marble floor approaching her and felt hands placed gently on her shoulders. She had not been prepared for the touch and jumped violently. "Sarah, you can open your eyes now."

Slowly, she lifted her eyelids to look into Jareth's concerned face. At that moment she just seemed to fall apart as she burst into tears and flung her arms about the Goblin King's neck. "Shh," he murmured softly as he rubbed her back comfortingly, "You're safe now. Just hold onto me tightly and I'll take you away from here." Jareth walked to the center of the ballroom, looking back at his brother's crumpled body only once, then he too closed his eyes and he and Sarah disappeared in a cloud of glitter.

They reappeared in one of the enchanted forests of the Labyrinth. The leaves and trees sparkled in the evening light and faeries peered out from behind bushes to stick their tongues out or gesture rudely. Jareth carried Sarah to a small ring of stones and set her down on one gently. He himself chose a stone opposite hers, then took her abused arms in his hands. "Sarah," he said gently as he pushed back the sleeves of her gown. "Sarah, look at me."

The girl quieted a little to look up into her rescuer's face. "Sarah please stop crying. I absolutely abhor it when people cry whilst I'm trying to help them," he said softly. He let go of one of her arms to quickly wipe some of her tears from her cheeks. Sarah gulped once then blinked rapidly to stop the flow of tears. "Much better," commented the Goblin King as he took her arms in both hands once again. He looked down at them to assess the damage and scowled deeply at the bright red rings that would begin to bruise soon if left untreated. "Now brace yourself," he said.

Sarah closed her eyes again, expecting to feel some sort of pain, like when she had gotten stitches once. She was shocked when she felt no pain, but instead a gentle cooling on her arms. She opened her eyes to see Jareth, his head bowed and eyes closed in concentration. Where his hands touched her arms there was a slight shimmering and the marks began to fade away. When he finally looked up again, the angry red marks were gone and only that soft, cool feeling remained.

When Sarah tried to speak, she found that the words just would not come. She gave up trying to thank him and instead simply threw herself into his arms and held him tightly. Shocked by her strange display of emotions, Jareth could do nothing but hold her in return. "I thought he was you," Sarah mumbled into his shirt. "But then I knew he wasn't. I just . . . God I was so scared." She began to weep again, her sobs rocking her whole frame.

"Shh, shh," he murmured gently stroking her back, "It's really me this time, Sarah. I promise. Now just breathe." Sarah took in one deep breath after another until she knew she wouldn't start crying again. She sat up slowly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

When she knew she could handle her voice she croaked, "Who was that? And what does he want from me?" Jareth stood slowly and walked out of the little ring of stones, rubbing the back of his neck in thought.

He stopped and stood there for a moment, letting the silence around them thicken. Sarah jumped a little when he finally began to speak, "He is my twin brother Damon." He turned around and sat down across from Sarah once more.

"_Twin_ brother?" she asked, confused. "But your eyes . . ." she let the statement hang in the air as she lifted a hand towards Jareth's cheek. She caught herself before she touched him, ". . . and your hair. You two are too different to be twins." She looked down to hide the blush that rose from her chin to her hairline. _What was I doing?_ she asked herself.

"Fraternal," he answered simply. He too looked down for a moment, wishing that she _had_ touched him. "I was born two and-a-half minutes before him," he went on. "Thus I was chosen as heir to our father's throne. My brother is a prince, but for him always being in my shadow was never acceptable apparently." He looked up at Sarah again and continued, "You must understand, until very recently I had not known of his _dislike_ of me, and he and I had been very close. When you left the Labyrinth four years ago, I told him everything. I told him about your handling of my obstacles, how I felt for you," he swallowed roughly, "and what you said to me at the end of your journey." He sighed and rubbed his neck again, "I suppose he fell in love with you as well because of your rejection of me. Or perhaps he had just finally found the one thing he could use to steal my kingdom away from me . . . you."

Jareth got up again, he seemed unable to sit still for too long, and walked over to a tree at the edge of the clearing. He leaned against it heavily, his back towards the young woman sitting in the stone circle. She too got up and strode towards the Goblin King, her long iridescent skirts whispering softly. "But you don't love me anymore, you hate me. Right?" she asked tentatively.

He turned around and looked at her with that same hurt expression he had given her back in his classroom. "No," he said huskily, "I never stopped loving you."

"But in my room that one evening, and Friday night . . . And in school Monday morning, you said your feelings for me hadn't changed. I don't understand," she stopped and looked up at him confused as ever. He gently put one gloved hand on her arm protectively and let the other one rest on her cheek.

"The reason I was so bitter towards you was because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't steal your heart the way you had stolen mine. I just couldn't understand it." He let his hand travel up and down her arm, rubbing it comfortingly. Sarah stepped back a little and took his hand in her own. She looked up into those strange and beautiful eyes as she slowly drew off his gloves.

"You never take them off," she said softly, "Why?" He shrugged as he looked down at the actions of her hands. As she drew the last glove off his hand she looked down at them, taking in their strength and grace. His fingers were slim and long, but still masculine. On his right thumb was a ring, it shimmered and sparkled in the fading light. It was very much like the ring she had received earlier, the dark little ring that he had taken away from her, but instead of goblin hands this one was formed by intricate little owl wings. The crystal that sat in the center was smooth like the other and clearer than even the most sparkling river water. It shone brightly even as the sun was setting.

She looked up at him again, and slowly he lifted his own gaze to hers. "The other one's your brother's isn't it?" He nodded slowly. "And the candles, the dress, all those pranks, they were him too," she stated rather than asked. Still he nodded, never leaving her gaze. She held his hand back up to her cheek and reveled in the feeling of his warm, callused palm, rather than that of a cold leather glove. She closed her eyes contentedly, never before had silence been so comforting to her.

Still in disbelief at her desire to have him touch her, it took Jareth a moment to realize that he wasn't dreaming. He let his other hand fall to Sarah's waist as he slowly tilted her face upward. Her eyes were still closed, for she too was afraid that if she opened them, she would find that this was all another dream. Slowly he let his face fall to hers as he gently touched her lips in a chaste kiss. He let his forehead fall to rest on hers as he closed his eyes in happiness. "No," whispered Sarah as she let her fingers wrap themselves in his long blond tresses and pull his face down to hers again. Again their lips met, but this time their kiss was hungrier, more passionate. _Oh now I've done it,_ thought Sarah a little exasperatedly, _I've fallen for him again._ Jareth wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck softly.

"No!" roared someone, not too far away from Sarah. Suddenly she felt herself being ripped from Jareth's arms and something cold and sharp bit into her neck cruelly, just beneath her jaw. Damon had found them.

* * *

**A/N: ** Oooh looky! Another cliffie, muahahahahahahaha! Oh, ain't I evil! Anyway, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and to hand out cookies! Yay!

**Tess Micaela Bowie:** Good, I'm deathly afraid of heights. Oh man that was scary! Yes brother! lightning flashes and thunder crashes ominously Where did that come from? Oh well. I think therapy might be the best choice, because if something went wrong on Jerry, someone might wind up dead! That would be awful!

**Kittendragon:** I'm glad you love the story and you're right! That second quote _is_ from The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Tosses you a cookie Thanks for the review!

**Wolf.at.Heart:** Damon, I've found is a very common name for Jareth's "brother" but I'd already written the story and I didn't want to change it, so I left it that way. You wouldn't have seen it in any of my other work, since this is my first fic. Yes you hould feel sympathy for Sarah, Damon's a little off his rocker as you'll see in the next chapter. Thanks for your reviews!

**Raynne:** I'm glad you love the twist, I wasn't sure if anyone would throw steamed broccoli at me for lack of originalness! Thanks for the review!

**Ghostofthewaterflame:** Oh yeah! Action! Whoot! Sorry about the cliffies there . . . actually no I'm not. I love them too much! Wait till next chapter, there's even more action! Thanks for the reviews.

**Mistress Eden:** Cliffies are not evil, they're just misunderstood. I'm glad you'll go easy on me, since I've never been very coordinated with the sword. I can never stay on the line! Very frustrating. Anyway . . . thank you for supporting my uncreative idea! It is a good one, it's just done so often, but I liked the character of Damon and I wanted him to be connected to Jareth some way. You also get a cookie! It is from The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Salutes as well

**Rose Tyler:** I will check for your story and review if I find it! Yes, as the world falls down is a very depressing song, It always makes me think of that awful pained expression on his face when she runs from him. sobs and weeps and curses Sarah Sadly where I am, I can't get BBC America, so I've been cut off from all things British. If I did watch Dr. Who, I would certainly read it. Thank you for reviewing!

**A/N:** I am a little disappointed with you all, because you couldn't identify the second quote. "Ooh look at me I'm a flippin' little cliffie. Let me cliff for ya!" it is from, Finding Nemo people! "Ooh look at me, I'm a flippin' little dolphin. Let me flip for ya!" Throws giant cake in the shape of Dory in the trash It's okay, I'll give you all a second chance next time. Congrats to those who got the other quote though! I just love that movie. All right slackers who don't review, you know you want to! REVIEW! Thanks a lot everybody!


	11. Damon

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**Damon**

Jareth stiffened in fear for Sarah as he stood, watching and waiting, waiting for Damon to make a move. And there the three of them stood, rage radiated from the two men in waves. The silence was so deafening that Sarah thought she would lose her grip on sanity if it went on any longer. And the pain! Oh the pain that pressed in on her ears as the silence protracted infinitely.

Just when she thought she'd scream out in anguish from the silence, Damon broke it, "My poor misguided brother," he said slowly with that same arrogant tone of voice that Jareth used with his goblin subjects, cool and calm. "Did you really think that your little light show would finish me? That I'd just shrivel up on the floor and perish?" his voice had something strange in it. _Insane,_ thought Sarah, a little panicked, _He's completely insane_. "No dear brother, I'm much harder to get rid of than that." Damon leaned down until his lips slightly brushed the curve of Sarah's ear when he whispered to her, "it was actually quite impressive, that little attempt of his. I was blind as a bat for quite a little while. A brighter flash of light I've never seen."

In this brief moment of carelessness, Jareth tried to slowly make his way towards Damon. He took one step, two . . . "Not so close, brother mine!" cried Damon as he whirled around to face Jareth fully once more. "Come too close and Sarah's dress will no longer be white," to make his point, he pushed the dagger at Sarah's throat a little deeper into her flesh. It was a sensation unlike any other she had ever felt. It was almost like getting a shot, but instead of being withdrawn quickly, like a needle, the tip of the dagger remained in her neck. The warm feeling of blood trickled sluggishly down the curve of her neck.

Damon stepped back once to keep distance between himself and Jareth, completely ignoring the slight shrilling coming from underneath the leaves he had just stepped on. "Normally, Jareth dear, you have complete power over me, being my king and what not, but now it is I who have total and complete power over you," he shifted his boot slightly as he spoke, the shrilling stopped. From his tone of voice, Sarah knew that he was enjoying the stricken look on Jareth's face as he dangled her life before his eyes.

Before this day Sarah would have said she hated faeries, absolutely loathed them, that they were nasty, wretched little blighters. But what happened next changed everything she felt for the little winged monsters.

Suddenly the feeling of the dagger in Sarah's neck was gone, and the strong arm around her waist went lax as Damon screamed shrilly. She must have turned around so that she could look at Damon too quickly, for she soon found herself on the ground. The sight before her eyes was so ridiculous that she had a hard time keeping herself from laughing outright. Damon too was on the ground, but he was far too busy fending himself from a swarm of faeries to notice Jareth swoop down on Sarah and take her up into his arms.

One faerie that flitted angrily around his face, shrieking at the top of her lungs and scratching at his eyes, clearly had a crushed and twisted leg. It was all too clear to Sarah what had happened.

Jareth backed up a good distance away from the swarm of faeries before he snapped his fingers forcefully. Like a flash of lightning the faeries were gone, they knew when to flee before their king. "Why Damon?" asked Jareth as he drew a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to Sarah's wound, making sure not to drop her. He could feel the wound bleeding slowly under his fingers, Damon had missed any major veins but blood loss was still an important issue.

Sarah closed her eyes, too tired to keep them open, and began to listen to the men's voices as they spoke. She felt Jareth's chest rumble as he spoke again, the pain in his voice clearly evident. "We're brothers, Damon, twins. We share the same blood, you and I. Does that mean nothing to you?" Sarah could hear Damon weeping softly from pain. "Why Sarah?" Jareth was taking the betrayal of his brother hard, "She's done nothing to you."

"She's so pretty," whined Damon like a small child. "I just wanted something pretty for myself." Damon's sobs started to fade, and the sound of Jareth's breathing became softer. _Oh no,_ thought Sarah frantically, _I'm passing out._ Soon it became too hard for her to think and all sound became muted to her ears. She was out.

* * *

**A/N:** What a horrid place to stop, eh? Well then . . . Wait a minute . . . What are those pitchforks for? Umm . . . wait I won't write any more cliffies, just don't kill me! crosses fingers behind my back Yes I promise, no more cliffhangers. So anyway, about Swiss cheese . . .

**Mistress Eden:** Thank you for your reviews, they really spur me on. I hope you enjoyed your cookie, I've never had anyone dislike my cookies: ) More fluff is on the way! I hope you've gotten at least a couple of hours of sleep since I last updated.

**ghostofthewaterflame:** I hope this was enough action for you, I do so like this chapter. Changes your view on faeries now, doesn't it? They can be quite useful little buggers if your enemy steps on one's toe! Or entire leg in this case. Yes about those cliffies . . .

**K. Valentine:** Oh please don't cry. I do so hate it when people cry. Be cheerful, for you are to recieve a cookie for your initiative to get off your tush and write a review! Hopefully this cookie will inspire you to keep reviewing. Yes? this is where you nod vigorously Good. tosses you a cookie I'm glad you've been enjoying the story, hopefully it will just keep getting better as it progresses. Thanks for the review!

**TearsOnIce:** Good part? Is that to say then that there are bad parts! Oh no! I must remedy this then. ponders for a moment, taking the famous Pooh Bear thinking position. Think . . . think, think . . . Fluff, that's it! More fluff! Ooh, that'll be fun!

**Raynne:** Ooh, there shall be more snogging, no fear of that! And I should hope that Damon does not instill enough lustiness in you, that you look forward to his presence! Ewwww . . . Anywho. I hope this chapter has served as a decent calamine lotion for your itch! Thank you very much for your reviews, I look forward to them!

**angelofgodsgrace:** Hahahahahaha! I would never have expected someone to compare my story to a cigarrette! That's quite funny actuallly, as I think smoking is a horrid habit. I hope my story doesn't give you cancer. About the cliffies, umm . . . Oh would you look at the time! I must be off!

**Tiphen:** Now you have something else that you won't be able to wait to know what happens! Muahahahaha! My plan is working, they're all addicted! Ooh, I am SO evil: )

**Wolf.at.Heart:** As you can see now, poor Sarah was stabbed. You know that colorgaurd flag idea is quite interesting . . . hmmm . . . Well anyway, there shall be more hands stuff in the future. I've always found that intriguing, that he never once took them off in the film. It shall be explained away even more in future. Thank you for your reviews!

**enchantednight84:** You reviewed, I updated. That's how the game works! Finally someone figured it out. You see if no one reviews, I may just deem that this story deserves to be left unfinished! I'm just kidding around, I'm not that cruel. Thank you for your review, I hope I updated quickly enough for you. : )


	12. Waking Up to the Truth

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. I also own no ideas of J.K. Rowlings, sadly. But I thought this one fit Jareth so well, that I borrowed it. (curses the world under her breath)

**Waking Up**

Sarah's mind was beginning to clear, leaving only the fogginess of sleep behind to muddle her thoughts. She knew she was somewhere much more comfortable than the forest floor, or a dungeon if Damon had beaten Jareth. She rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow. Her eyes flew open in alarm when she realized that it was _not_ her pillow, but someone else's. She took a deep breath, trying to identify the smells that were lodged in the pillows depths. Cardamom, leather, and she took another deep breath. There was a tangy and sort of bitter scent on the pillow as well. When she breathed it in, she could see shimmering in her mind, and lights from a prism or crystal. _Magic!_ She thought triumphantly.

Other things began to register in her mind as she slowly began to waken. She could feel the sun beating down on her face, her feet felt a little chilly. The birds were outside singing gaily, it was the most beautiful bird song in the world except for . . . "What is that awful noise!" mumbled Sarah bitterly as she sat up to look around the room she was in. In the sunlight that beat through the tall stone windows the room appeared to be warm and comforting. The walls were a warm shade of grey stone, the floor was as well. In fact there were really only two walls, one was windowless and flat with a sturdy looking oak door, the other had three large windows and was curved almost into a full circle. "I'm in a tower," she stated logically to herself.

She let her eyes travel around the room slowly, taking in the dark blue and gold wall hangings and curtains that were sported around the room, the small bedside table made from a similar wood as the door, an oak dresser with a small gold rimmed mirror, and an oak chest of drawers. She plucked idly at the white sheets that covered her as she examined the bed in which she had slept. It was modest but still elegant, like the rest of the room. The headboard was also oak and the comforter that was folded on the edge of the bed was dark blue and gold. It was set underneath one of the large stone windows, and next to bed, underneath another window, was a wing backed arm chair with simple dark blue and white upholstery. In the chair was the culprit of all that horrible noise.

Jareth was reclining in the chair, his head leaned backwards against the back of the chair. His hands rested on the arms of chair, and Sarah noticed that they were both gloved again. Every time Jareth took a breath, a horrible snoring sound issued from his nose. Carefully, Sarah threw her legs over the side of the bed and tiptoed silently over to the sleeping Goblin King. _I sure do hope he didn't put me into this night gown,_ she thought amusedly to herself as she noticed that she was wearing a very pretty blue night gown. As slowly and gently as she could, Sarah drew Jareth's gloves off, then firmly clamped down on his nose with one hand.

She stood there, staring at him intently, waiting for that incumbent moment when his body needed to breathe and found that it couldn't. She didn't have to wait long. Like a cat who realizes it's floundering in the water, Jareth jerked forward flailing his arms and shaking his head in an attempt to free his captured nose. Sarah pulled her hand away quickly and backed up slowly trying to stifle her giggles.

When it finally registered to him that his nose was free, he looked over at Sarah with a questioning gaze. "S…s…snoring!" she said through her hand. She couldn't hold it anymore; she collapsed to the floor giggling hysterically as Jareth looked on bewildered, rubbing his nose idly.

"What was that?" he asked confusedly.

Sarah sat up and rubbed at the tears that were falling from her eyes. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. "The mighty Goblin King was snoring," she said at last. A faint blush rose to Jareth's cheeks as he looked down at his shoes.

"I only do that when I sleep in this chair," he said a little nervously. Still trying to avoid Sarah's eyes he asked, "Would you like some breakfast?" Sarah looked over at the gold clock that was sitting on the bedside table and saw that it was almost eleven-thirty, and that there were only twelve hours.

"Wait, why are there only twelve hours on that clock?" asked Sarah bemusedly. Jareth looked up at her, a surprised expression on his face.

"Don't you remember?" he asked. She shook her head. Jareth sighed heavily, "I re-ordered time for you. Did you think that there were really thirteen hours on a clock down here all the time?" She looked sheepishly up at him and nodded, going red with embarrassment. He looked at the floor when he next spoke to her, "I turned the world upside-down for you." They sat there like that for a little while, both of them wary to speak. Sarah got up slowly and walked over to the dresser. She picked up the clock and pointed at the face.

"So you want breakfast, huh?" she asked with a smile. This time Jareth looked at her when he spoke.

"All right brunch really," he smiled rakishly at her, "What would you like?"

"Despite the excitement of yesterday, I'm really not that hungry," she said as she placed the clock back on the dresser and sat down on the bed once more. Jareth raised his eyebrows at her as she went on, "I usually just have a cup of coffee when I wake up. But of course, if you're hungry, please eat something."

Again, looking somewhat surprised he shook his head and said, "No, no. I too only have coffee in the morning." He glanced over at Sarah again with a quirked eyebrow, now very amused. "How very strange." He braced both hands on the arms of the chair and walked over to the door. There he opened it, leaned outside and muttered something. Sarah heard hurried footsteps run away from the room and down the stairs outside the door. Jareth closed the door with a click and strode back over to the chair. Sarah got up slowly, with bones that ached and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at Jareth expectantly.

Jareth coughed into his hand as he glanced over at Sarah. "I took the liberty of having a goblin maid change you into something more suitable to sleep in," he looked at Sarah again, a faint blush rising to his high cheekbones again. "I hope you don't mind." Sarah shook her head as she drew her knees up to her chest to lay her head upon them. Again Jareth tried to make small talk, "You slept well, I'm sure?"

"Tell me what happened, Jareth."

Jareth lowered his head in submission and sighed heavily. "I sent him to the Bog," he said simply. Again Sarah shook her head and glared at the evasive man in front of her.

"Everything Jareth."

He took a deep breath to fortify himself. He opened his mouth to speak but a loud tap on the door interrupted him. A hapless looking little goblin crept in bearing a tray with a teapot, two teacups, a little pitcher and two little pots. The little goblin shuffled over to the windows and set they tray down on the bedside table. Then it stood there with its hands clasped before it waiting for the King's next orders.

"This is Mugless," said Jareth, gesturing to the little goblin.

"Muggin, your majesty," corrected the little goblin.

Jareth sighed exasperatedly and Sarah covered her mouth to suppress her giggles. "Yes Muggin. Anyway, she was your maid yester-evening." The little goblin curtsied wobbly. Sarah eyed the goblin's clothing, thinking that they really weren't that feminine. She gave a questioning glance towards Jareth, who said, "Yes she is female, despite her male attire. She is at your disposal while you are here." He waved his hand at Muggin, who scurried out the door before Sarah could thank her.

"This room however," continued Jareth after the little maid had left, "is not at your disposal."

"Why not?" asked Sarah. Jareth stood and turned his back to Sarah, busying himself with the tray that Muggin had brought.

"Because it's mine." Sarah looked swiftly around the room again, noting for a second time the simple décor, the small but not uncomfortable size of the room itself, and the lack of grandeur all around.

"It's not what I expected," she said finally. Jareth turned around and handed her a cup of coffee. She took it gratefully and wrapped her chilled fingers around it. He held the tray before her so that she could put cream or the contents of the two little pots into her beverage if she wished to. She peeked into the little pots and found sugar and honey. Sarah ladled some honey and poured some cream into her coffee. Jareth quirked an eyebrow and sat to put the same contents into his own cup.

He took a deep draught of the piping hot liquid then looked up at Sarah. "You know that's exactly what my mother said when she saw what I'd done with it." He smiled over at Sarah who gave him one in return. "Then I told her to look up." Sarah looked at Jareth questioningly then looked up at the ceiling. But there was no ceiling, instead Sarah was looking up into the endless blue depths of the midmorning sky. A few white clouds drifted lazily across the sky, egged on by a wind that was felt as only a cool breeze coming through the windows in the little tower room. Sarah looked at Jareth again, her mouth hanging, as he grinned smugly at her. "She gave me that same expression as well."

"Is it like this all the time?" asked Sarah who began to gaze back up at the non-existing ceiling.

"It reflects the sky at all times, even when it rains. That's interesting to watch." Sarah brought her gaze back down to the King who was paying all of his attention to his coffee cup. He finally noticed that Sarah was staring at him and looked up at her awe-struck gaze. He shrugged idly, "What can I say? I like to sleep under the stars. But enough about my room. You wanted to know what happened after you passed out?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, thoroughly shocked that she had forgotten.

"Well to tell you the truth, not much," continued Jareth pointedly. "I just told him that he was taking you for granted just as I had when you were here last, he became a little upset and lunged at us. I lost my temper and sent him to the Bog of Eternal Stench. Then of course I healed your wound. You lost quite a bit of blood my dear. And I regret to tell you that your gown will never be the same." His coffee gone, Jareth began to search around and underneath his chair. "You haven't by any chance seen my gloves have you?" he asked her.

"What do you mean you took me for granted? And why didn't you just destroy him, you have the power?" asked Sarah. Jareth's explanation was quite a poor one, for it left her quite confused.

Still looking for his lost gloves, Jareth answered, "I didn't really take you, yourself for granted, but that I could completely sweep you off your feet and make you forget everything. That's what Damon had in mind as well. And I could no sooner destroy Damon than you could Toby." Sarah cringed in understanding. "He is my brother after all," he frowned in consternation as he spoke, "Where are my damn gloves!"

Sarah held up the gloves that she had taken off his hands earlier and dangled them tauntingly. His face brightened as he saw them and strode forward to take them from her. Before he could get a hold on them, she jerked her hand away and hid them behind her back. "Why do you always wear gloves Jareth?" she asked. When he didn't answer she realized that their proximity to each other was much closer than it should be when Sarah was wearing naught but a nightgown. Jareth cleared his throat and took step backward. But of course Sarah really didn't care about that and actually felt that he was being far too gallant. She stood up stubbornly, closing the gap he had made between them and threw his gloves out the nearby window. He could only follow the flight of his gloves with his eyes in shock, then turned to look back at Sarah with a disbelieving expression on his face. "What are you afraid of?" she asked softly as she took his bare hands in her own. "Are you afraid to touch me?"

Jareth swallowed hard. "Yes," he croaked. He was finding it increasingly difficult to speak. Sarah looked up at him questioningly, so he continued, "I'm afraid that if I try and touch you, I'll find that you're not real. That it's just another dream, and I'll wake up from it alone and unwanted."

Sarah reached up to place her hand on the smooth skin of his cheek, "I'm no dream. Not this time." Jareth reached out tentatively and finally placed a shaking hand underneath her jaw and rubbed his thumb soothingly over her skin. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side to expose more of her neck, inviting him to caress it. His hand began to shake again when she put her hands on his waist. She slipped them underneath the old grey shirt he'd had on since the day before and rubbed the small of his back with gentle fingers. "You weren't this nervous yesterday," she mumbled into his shirt.

Again she felt the thrilling sensation of his deep voice rumbling in his chest as he spoke. "Yesterday, I thought I was dreaming, that I had just imagined us kissing underneath that tree." Sarah dug her fingers into his back a little harder, producing a groan from him before she spoke again.

"Unless you and I had the same dream, what happened yesterday was real," she said softly. She withdrew her hands from under his shirt to pull his face down to hers. Their lips met and an array of stars exploded behind Sarah's eyes. Jareth wrapped his arms around her waist to draw her closer as their kiss deepened.

Suddenly Jareth's eyes snapped open, he knew they were going too far when he felt Sarah's hands start to lift his shirt off him. Startled, he realized that he'd lost control as well, for the straps of Sarah's nightgown were pushed down her shoulders. He wrenched away, leaving them both breathless. "We go too far," he managed to wheeze out. Sarah nodded numbly as she sat down on the bed. She wrapped herself up tightly in one of the blankets, trying to keep the sudden warmth she felt close to her body. _Boy, that was definitely not what I expected,_ she thought giddily to herself. Suddenly she brought her attention back to the present, he was speaking again.

"I think, it's best that you go home now," he said. His face was blank of all emotion except for that haughty expression he always wore. Sarah frowned in confusion, _Why is he being so distant?_ He went on, "Your parents and brother must be worried."

"But you said I'd be resting here, didn't you?" Now she was utterly perplexed, he was acting as if nothing had happened. _Why, is he doing this?_ Sarah opened her mouth ready to voice her questions, when she noticed that he was walking towards the door.

He never looked back at her as he opened the door and threw a dancing slipper over his shoulder at her. "Go home Sarah," he said coldly. She reached to catch her shoe and realized too late what it had turned into. For the briefest moment she saw the shoe turn into a crystal before it exploded into a storm of glitter. She blinked and there she was standing in her room in her nightgown.

"Damn it!" she whispered vehemently to her mirror, "Come back and talk to me!" Her mirror showed nothing but the reflection of herself in an empty room. Her mind was racing, why was he being so distant? It didn't make any sense. "Hoggle! I need you!" Sarah looked into her mirror to see her small friend once again sitting on the reflection of her bed.

"Y-you called?" he asked tentatively, noting the strange shade of red Sarah's face had become.

"Get Jareth right now! And tell him he has some explaining to do." She was seething, angry and all she could see in her mind's eye was an instant replay of the moment when he'd pulled away with that damned Goblin King "mask" on, and someone was pushing the repeat button over and over. She looked at Hoggle's reflection, which was talking over his shoulder to what appeared to be her wall. He turned back around to look at her with a worried, and very nervous expression. "He said . . ." Sarah could definitely hear her little friend gulp, "'Make me'. Oh Sarah please don't go hurtin' me . . . I'ms just the messenger."

But little did Hoggle know, Sarah had stopped listening to him, had completely forgotten he was there. "So that's the way he wants to deal with me. Fine I can fix that, I _will_ make him." Slowly an evil grin began to play across her face, "I wish the goblins would take me away, right now!"

* * *

**A/N:** I'm very sad right now. I know the last chapter was short, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. Very few people reviewed! How am I supposed to carry on this silly story if no one wants to encourage me! Well, I tried to make up for the short chapter by making this one quite a bit longer. Maybe now, some of you fair weather reviewers will review, right? I now want to thank my LOYAL followers,

**enchantednight84:** I don't know if you've read some of my replies to other reviews, but I've actually written the entire story. It took about a year and a half to finish, so really it's all a matter of replying to you nice people and editing. That's why I'm fasterthanajackrabbitonahotgreasygriddleinthemiddleofaugustwithapackofcoyoteshotonmytrail when it comes to updating. Yes Sarah does have a rather exciting life, doesn't she? Lucky b . . . ooh, I don't want to say that word, do I? Whatever, lucky bitch! You really can't help feeling a little sorry for Damon, he really isn't alright upstairs you know, so he really doesn't understand why it's so wrong. Poor idiot.

**ghostofthewaterflame:** I didn't want to put too much action into it, because Damon isn't truly evil, he's just very confused. I am sorry about the chortness, hopefully you will be satisfied by the longness of this one. I really love those faeries, they're such horrid little creatures, you just love to hate them! But they fit so well with the last chapter, I didn't want to destroy Damon for obvious reasons . . . and I just thought it was so comical!

**Mistress Eden:** I hope this was fast enough! Yes, you just have to love those brassed off faeries! Hey, I mean, what you do if some giant idiot crushed your leg? He's lucky he escaped alive . . . Thanks for your review!

**Rose Tyler:** They're names are complete opposites, for their characters and each other. Jareth is a blend of Jared and Gareth, which their meanings put together mean "descending night" and Damon means "constant sunrise." Jow strange did that work out? I chose the name Damon before I knew what either of them meant. And isn't it strange that Damon, whose name speaks of the light, is dark, and Jareth , whose name speaks of the darkness, is light? Damon, is very nuch like a little child, insanity wreaks havoc on the mind.

**Raynne:** Yes, go faeries! I really loved hoe that bit turned out. I wasn't sure if anyone else would think it was funny. I'm glad they did. Sadly Damon is not faking it, he just doesn't understand why it was wrong, or why he didn't get the same attention as Jareth when they were little. He would probably be classified as antisocial, he saw Sarah only as a tool and not as a human being, and mildly schizophrenic, which explains the child-like behavior. Damon is a sad character, not an evil one. Thanks for your review!

**Wolf.at.Heart:** OK . . . 0o; moves all shiny and pointy objects away from the computer I'm just kidding! I'm not used to writing violence, so I'm sure it did seem rather amusing that it was so poetic. Hahahaha! A flag, would have been very nice, but all the flags were hanging on the castle walls . . . Oh well. Thank you for your reviews! I hope you enjoy this one as well.

**Tiffany:** Here's some more, I hope you enjoy it just as much! Thanks for reviewing!


	13. The End Hath Cometh perhaps

**Summary: **It's been a while since Sarah ran the Labyrinth and her friendship with Hoggle and the others is as strong as ever. Life is good. That it until a certain glitter-loving king decides to turn her world upside-down one more time. Except this time he's not the only one after her. . .

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from Labryinth, not even a measly speck of glitter from Jareth's enormous supply. He keeps it all in a giant warehouse in Kentucky. Didn't know that didya? Labyrinth is copyrighted to Henson. (curses the world under her breath)

**A/N:** Hey isn't that strange, this story has THIRTEEN chapters. (Twilight Zone Theme plays mysteriously) looks around confusedly Where did that music come from. shrugs shoulders precociously Well this is it people, the end. You know, sequels are wonderful things, hmmmm . . . rubs chin in an intellectual way Hmmmmmm . . . Thank you to everyone who's been following the story. Without you guys I would have just given up. Thank you so much sniffles Lady Cobweb out!

**The End Hath Cometh! (perhaps . . . )**

"Oh majesty, now thou hast done it," squeaked the little fox knight. Sir Didymus was crouched behind one of his King's boots while Ludo was vainly trying to hide himself behind a little keg of Goblin Brew. Hoggle, of course, was nowhere to be seen. "Could'st thou not have let her stay 'til the morrow? She may have enjoyed the visit with old friends, I'm sure." Jareth looked down at his little companion and glared. Didymus, wisely, shut up.

"Ludo scared," the poor giant moaned. The cause of his fear had just come striding into the hall, still only in her nightgown, and with a great stream of goblins in tail.

"Jareth!" Sarah looked at Jareth with an expression that would have made paint peel and milk go sour. "Why are you being such a lunatic!" she yelled. Jareth stood up sharply and strode briskly to stand very close to her, his presence making him seem to be twenty feet tall. This of course did not intimidate Sarah as it would someone else, so he tried a different tactic.

"I, a lunatic?" he said coldly. "If anyone here is lacking sanity Sarah, then it is you" Sarah stared back at him, anger knitting her brow together.

"Me, crazy? Are you mental!" she cried. "I'm not the one who had a panic attack because he was afraid he was 'going too far'!" Her face was turning an alarming shade of red and a small vein was starting to throb in her forehead. Jareth was a little worried she might have an apoplexy. "Well what is it, did you just not want any tail right then and didn't know how to tell me!" Jareth's eyes widened in shock at her language, it was very disturbing. The few goblins in the throne room started to giggle at her vulgar expression, but soon coward in fear at the evil expression she gave them all.

Jareth's surprised expression soon turned to an angrier one, as sucked in a deep breath, "I didn't have a panic attack," he said slowly. He lowered his voice so that only they could hear, and said little awkwardly, "And it's not that I didn't . . . "want any tail" to use that lovely expression you employed, I just don't want you to throw your life away for me!" Sarah stepped back a little, shocked at this outburst.

"Throw my life away?" she said softly. Jareth's shoulders drooped a little and his eyes seemed sadder than she ever seen them. "But Jareth I . . . I love you." Jareth's eyes widened and a lightness seemed to fill the air around them.

"You . . . you . . . ?" he stammered. Sarah nodded her head to answer his unasked question, a sheepish smile spreading across her face. Jareth looked at her with a bittersweet expression on his face. He took her face in his hands and placed a light kiss upon her brow. When he stepped back from her, he appeared to be on the verge of tears.

Sarah's heart began to sink, when the silence became protracted. Finally he spoke, "Sarah, do you know who you are yet?" he asked sadly. She thought for a moment, then shook her head sadly. "Do you know what you want out of life?" again she shook her head. "Then I can not keep you here with me," said Jareth slowly, his voice cracking.

She couldn't help it, tears started to run down her face. "But why!"

Jareth stepped even further from her, "There are so many things in your world that you need to experience, choices you need to make. I will not take that opportunity away from you just because I want to keep you selfishly here with me." The castle room around her was beginning to blur, the floor felt as if it were falling from underneath her.

"No!" she cried. The tears were coming stronger now, they became great chest- heaving sobs. Her room began to materialize before her, but she could still hear his voice.

"Maybe your heart will bring you back to me. But for now I must . . . I _have_ to let you go . . ." his voice faded into silence. Sarah looked around her room, it was empty except for her. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly, crying like she had not cried for a very long time. she looked around her room again, hoping, praying he had changed his mind. No one was there. He was gone.

* * *

Sarah sat in the hard fold out chair on the stage, wanting to move. It had been almost an hour since she had sat down and it felt as if her butt was starting to fall asleep and her black robe was starting to itch. It had been four years since she started attending Brown University studying politics and International studies, and now it was finally graduation day.

She had thought a lot that morning when she and Jareth had parted ways. At first she had been angry and upset, she refused to understand why he had left her. After a while, she had lost count of the months, she decided that she was going to try and do what Jareth had wanted, to experience life. She had missed the deadline to go to college right after high school, so she decided to travel the world for a year, surviving on what little money she had that was her own. She saw the great wonders of the world, Venice and Rome, Paris, Athens, Tokyo, and London, but everyday she still thought of Jareth and wondered what it would have been like if she'd tried harder to stay with him. But soon she found that she would have regretted it everyday, for she hadn't experienced anything, Jareth had been right!

She decided to go back to school and studied the world she had seen, its cultures, and governments, its peoples. And then it hit her, she had found out who she was, what she wanted in life. It had only just occurred to her the other day, right after her last final. I wonder if I still have a chance . . . she thought to herself as the speaker droned on. She watched the other students in her particular college get up, shake the dean's hand and take their diplomas. She was still in a reverie when the dean called her name. Oh crap! I almost missed it, she fumed at herself. Sarah stood up, walked across the stage, shook the dean's hand then took her diploma. She headed down the stairs towards the group of chairs in the back of the theatre just for the graduates. She passed Lydia, Toby, Karen, and Robert on her way there and gave them a little wave and a broad grin.

Looking at her family, she realized how much her life had changed. Lydia had given up the goth life a couple of years ago and was getting married in a little over a month. She was just as bubbly as ever, testimony of this made Sarah laugh when her friend pushed her nose up with one finger and crossing her eyes, making her look like a very unattractive piggy. Toby was almost a grown up it seemed, now a boisterous ten year-old, he was forever getting into trouble, yet his head was still in the clouds. Only Karen and Robert appeared to have changed very little. Karen was still terribly protective and observant, and Robert was just as caught up in the material world as ever, they just seemed . . . older.

Sarah heaved a sigh at the strange way life plays out. _I wonder where_ . . . she thought, but soon caught herself. Jareth had given her the world, just like he'd promised, and she missed him. But surely he wouldn't be here . . .

When she reached her row, she saw that someone was in the seat next to hers that shouldn't be there. Two odd-colored eyes looked straight into hers and she could feel her soul lift. She sat down next to him and watched the stage as the rest of the graduates received their diplomas. "This is only the beginning Sarah. The world has opened itself to you, and it's now yours for the taking." She knew that he was watching her, but she kept her eyes on the stage. She unceremoniously took her mortarboard off and set it in her lap as he went on, "This is the start of your new life Sarah." She reached for his bare hand, no gloves in sight, and grasped it firmly in her own, lacing her fingers through his.

"No it's not," she said simply. He turned his head swiftly to look at her amazed. This time Sarah took her eyes off the stage and looked at him, a few tears running down her face.

"It's the start of _our_ new life, Jareth. _Ours._"

* * *

**A/N:** Awwwwww, that ending is so sappy! But I love it anyway. I want to thank everybody who's followed the story from the beginning. You guys were the driving force to keep me posting. It may be a while before you see me again, because I'm working on two stories at once (one seems to be very similar to this it seems . . . hmmmm . . . I wonder if it's a secret sequel!) and I like to complete stories before I post them. I promise though it won't be a year and a half, like it took me to write this one. Just give me time people, hey! Put down those pitchforks! You scary reviewer people . . . . Gaah!

**Mistress Eden:** Yes . . . fluff is very good. I bet this was not the reaction you were expecting, was it not? I had to go all serious on you guys! Muahahahaha! Thank you so much for all of your encouraging reviews, they have meant a lot to me.

**Tess Michaela Bowie:** Lydia would kick his ass, which is why I didn't throw her into that chapter soup. I love my Jareth and I don't want him to get hurt :( He's just too pretty! I bet you were surprised at what happened before the line break, huh? I love freakin' people out. But the end was good, yes? Good. Thank you so much for taking time to read my story, really. Thank you.

**yoo rin: ** I hope that was a fast enough update for you. Thanks for reviewing!

**americanbrunette:** Well here's the ASAP update! Sadly it's the last one. Well who knows, Damon might come back for more . . . hmmmmmm . . .

**Wolf.at.Heart:** Just when it got good it's over, right? Well don't worry. I've been comtemplating this a lot lately, and I think I'm going to write a sequel. I'm not sure exactly how it's going to pan out, but I know there'll be a lot more of Toby and Damon just hasn't had enough! Muahahahaha!

**Simone:** Here's the chapter you've been waiting for. Good reviewing puppy!

**Raynne:** I'm glad you understand Damon's situation better now. Genuinely insane characters are difficult to write. The ceiling was inspired by the Great Hall in HP. That's why I had to modify my discalimer. Jareth, does seem to have emotional constipation, doesn't he? Well perhaps in the proposed sequel, he'll be able to handle it a little better. ; ) Thank you for all your reviews, they've been so helpful and encouraging, really they have. Thank you again, very much!

**Rose Tyler:** Yes it is very confusing, and to think that it wasn't planned! Creepy huh? About that mind working in wierd ways . . . uh, gotta go! Screams over shoulder while running away at 30 miles an hour Thanks for all your reviews, Rose!

**not written:** I haven't given up, this was the planned ending. But a sequel looks imminant upon the horizon!

**silverempire:** Just when it gets good, it's done! Hahahaha. I'm pleased that you like my story. I don't know if you've heard, but I think I'm gonna come out with a sequel! Oooh, that possibilities! steeples fingers in an evil way Muahahahaha!

**Lazy:** Too bad this is the last chapter, huh? Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. Maybe you'll enjoy the supposed sequel too! Keep a weather eye open mate!

**ghostofthewaterflame:** That line is one of my favorites! It just seems so . . . Jareth! Haha! The ceiling actually was inspired by Harry Potter, thus the modified disclaimer on that chapter. Thank you for all your reviews, it makes me happy to know that I've gained some fans. Look for my other stories and the possible sequel to this one. Thanks so much.


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